Frank,

Please call me Clay, as my friends do! I am sorry to hear about your professional friend. Sometimes I guess it just sucks to be a professional and also takes a lot of risk as well. (I'll add that to the equation!)

As for professionals, I think you are one of many professionals here, Mr. Wrangler sir! Sorry to get so philoshophical and serious, it's all in the fun of it!

Catwoman...can't wait! Have you been to the set...I'll bet there are lots of professionals there! Be careful.

Clay...

Clay, I don't make a point of visiting sets, unless I happen to walk buy one---they're everywhere here, even in my neighbourhood---like on my street sometimes, and even next door. The movie, "the Grocer's Wife" was shot next door. If you call me "Mr Wranger" again, you're going to get it. Kidding. :-))

I don't know how to spell her name, Holly Barrie? She plays Catwomen.

How in the world did you score a house in the middle of a studio set? Cheap rent? I'm sure with conditions of coming and going when the "professionals" tell you to!?! :)

You can teach technique but you can not teach talent.

Steve

I wopuld be inclined to take Bill Raven's excellent statement: "... a professional is anyone who has a passion for their work, and demonstrates that passion in the quality of the delivered product that exceeds ordinary standards..." and add, "...and gets paid for it."

"How in the world did you score a house in the middle of a studio set?"

They film like crazy all over the place here in Vancouver.

"Cheap rent?"

Nope. $820+ per month for my little hole near Kits Beach; and that's cheap for these parts.

consider yourself blessed, Frank. Here in Santa Fe, a small house goes for over $2000/month. Local talent has to do a lot of service work to support their real passion. Such is the life of an artist, I guess.

So, perhaps there is a noteable distinction between "artist" and "professional". In my observations, a professional will do anything for money. An artist responds to higher moral values, which I will not debate, here.

Artists have been know to work for the love of the work, and put making the almighty dollar second. If this is the case, call me artist, not professional.

<<<--Artists have been know to work for the love of the work, and put making the almighty dollar second. If this is the case, call me artist, not professional-->>>

I'll second that! However, combine the best of it all and why not be a passionate artistic professional, or PAP for short! Passionate because you love what you do and dedicate yourself to it; Artistic because you have the talent and knowledge to manipulate your form of expression; Professional because you get paid for it. PAP, the highest form of professionalism????

Clay

by Jove, Clay, you may be onto something there...:)
Feliz Navidad to one and all.

I don't know how to spell her name, Holly Barrie? She plays Catwomen.

Halle Berry. Only the most gorgeous lady ever to grace a movie screen, imho.



..take Bill Raven's excellent statement: "... a professional is anyone who has a passion for their work, and demonstrates that passion in the quality of the delivered product that exceeds ordinary standards..." and add, "...and gets paid for it."

Good point, Chris, otherwise you'd have to include collegiate athletes (some of whom get paid very big dollars after they are done with school) and many of the Olympic athletes, plus volunteer firefighters, for example.

Funny, it's actually easier to define the meaning of "unprofessional" isn't it? Which none of us wants to be.

And hey, feliz navidad and happy Hanukkah, y'all.

Halle Berry--named after defunct Cleveland department store Halle Bros.

Oh, so that's her "professional" name.

I don't rent a house. I live in a 1 bedroom apt. Luckily, I have a balcony.

That disclaimer only works on the dv.com forum. Unfortunately, said forum is still down for yet another "upgrade."

I know a professional video engineer who used a paper clip to help grab a tiny wire inside a tape deck, so I guess paper clips are professional tools... Of course if you are a person in an office who uses paper clips to hold documents together, then you would no doubt want "professional" paper clips, and not those little colored plastic coated ones that this engineer used. They are only for amateurs.

At the risk of sounding non-philosophical about this whole discussion, I'll say that what I consider a professional camera is one that has a high resolution B&W viewfinder, has a "real" lens as opposed to the electronic ones, generates SMPTE bars, time code, has two XLR inputs, has all manual controls for video and audio, and allows you to reset time code and turn on the bars with knobs and buttons instead of having to go into the menu. That would mean my DSR500 is a professional camera and my DSR250 is not. But that doesn't mean I can't make nice pictures with the 250 on occasion.

Hey, she could be named after Wal-Mart and still be hot!

:-)